Certainly it can be both interesting and fun to track emerging technologies as they apply to learning and education, but it can also be overwhelming. It’s also easy to fall into the “tooly” camp of focusing more on tools than on learning and student engagement. This danger is not new, of course, Jamie McKenzie wrote “Toolishness is Foolishness” back in 2001. Yet we cannot ignore the tools either, and we need to recognize the natural progression we all go through as human beings when we are new to tools and their use has NOT yet become transparent.

It’s also important to consider how many of the communication tools and platforms categorized here are BLOCKED in many of our schools. The realities of content filtering in our schools should provide greater motivation and incentives for all of us to demonstrate the constructive potentials of these tools. This reflects the theme of the 2008 K-12 Online Conference, “Amplifying Possibilities.” I continue to believe digital storytelling projects like “Celebrate Oklahoma Voices” offer one of the most powerful and realistic ways to make constructive headway in the struggle to win hearts and minds for digital learning engagement amidst rampant fear mongering and reactionary statements by many leaders.

Thanks for sharing creating this post and sharing the resources. These will benefit my research and materials for my own development as well as the PD sessions I offer in 2009. As always, your posts enlighten all educators wanting to further develop their knowledge in the world of technology and engagement.